Hoshi no Kaabii
by ExodineTheDestroyer
Summary: The Fourth Tri-Force. Even Master Hand denies it exists and wastes no time on looking for it as his cronies search the universe for dangerous artifacts left by "The Council." Ganondorf ponders its existence and makes a discovery that leads him to Kirby.
1. Meeting Call

_**Hoshi no Kaabii**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to **_**Super Smash Bros**_**.**

**The rights to anything related to it belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

Chapter 1: Meeting Call

It was a peaceful moonlit night in Dream Land, a first in weeks for its protector: Kirby. The pink Star Warrior was quietly gazing up at the star filled sky while sitting next to his best friend and big sister figure: Tiffany Fumu Ebrum. She's about twice Kirby's height, has pale yellow skin and long hair (which she keeps in an ornate ponytail held by purple and orange clasps), along with large and expressive green eyes. Her clothing consists of a one-piece outfit which is pink on the top and green on the bottom (separated by a zigzag) and rounded orange shoes.

"It's nice out tonight," Tiff sighed with relief, glancing over at Kirby, "I guess King DDD finally decided to give up on getting rid of you."

"Ha, you could say we bonded awhile back," Kirby laughed, memories of his exploration through Subspace with King DDD resurfacing, "Though he'd probably deny it if you asked him…"

Tiff smiled at him before returning her gaze to the stars and the bright, glowing full moon. She let out another sigh and shifted slightly in the grass while Kirby yawned, feeling his eyelids getting heavy.

"Ugh…" Kirby grunted as he gazed at his right 'hand.' He tilted his head in confusion when he noticed a faint glow on it, resembling a triangle upon closer inspection.

It looked oddly familiar.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"W-what is," Kirby asked, confused before he followed Tiff's finger as she pointed to a glowing object in the sky and nodded in agreement, "Wow…what is that thing?"

"It's a shooting star, Kirby," she told him with a smile, "It kind of reminds me of when you first came to Dream Land…It was a bit awe inspiring, watching your ship light up the sky as if it were trying to take the sun's place."

She paused for a moment before clapping her hands together and grinning at Kirby, "Let's make a wish, Kirby."

Kirby nodded slightly and watched as Tiff closed her eyes. She seemed to be humming, but Kirby brushed it off as just being his imagination and stared up at the star. The young Star Warrior raised an eyebrow when he noticed that it was getting bigger and bigger.

Tiff clapped her hands and opened her eyes, immediately turning to look at the pink puffball. "So, what did you wish for," she asked her distracted friend.

Kirby continued to stare at the growing star.

"I hope that star doesn't hit us…" he absentmindedly answered the girl.

"Kirby, that's…" Tiff began, pausing when she noticed how big the star had gotten.

Their eyes widened as the star grew larger, causing the grass around them to pale under its unbearable light.

**-In Hyrule Castle-**

Zelda was silently brushing up on her Latin reading, occasionally glancing out a nearby window to watch Link and Marth's training sessions. She smiled slightly as the two men constantly parried each others' attacks with growing intensity.

"Stay _sharp_, Marth," Link grinned as he caught the blue haired swordsman off guard.

Marth quickly reacted, barely blocking Link's oncoming attack. "Don't worry about me, my fellow swordsman," Marth replied before pushing Link back, executing a series of graceful slashes that put the blonde swordsman on the defensive, "You should be more concerned with yourself!"

Marth's slashes became more aggressive, causing Link to lose his balance. Marth smirked as everything seemed to slow down around him and Link, the latter's eyes widening as he realized he was wide open, "Looks like I…?"

Marth felt a strange presence surge through the air, which caused him to scan the area and left _him_ wide open as Link quickly recovered.

"Win?"

Marth left out a small "Huh?" and returned his attention to Link, pausing for a moment as he stared at the glistening weapon a few inches from his nose. He freaked out, resulting in him taking a reflexive step back that caused him to trip _onto_ his back.

"See my _point_," Link laughed as he sheathed the Master Sword.

Marth let out a nervous chuckle and scratched his head, frowning when he heard a familiar laugh and clapping. He sighed and shot a glare at the red head approaching him and Link.

"Looks like you lose, Marth," Roy laughed as he helped his friend up, "You're usually more focused, what happened?"

"I felt this strange presence…"

"Huh, so I wasn't the only one?"

"That was just Pit," Link shrugged, yawning as he stretched, "He comes around here sometimes to gather some of the fruits Hyrule has, so you'll get used to…"

"Link!"

As if on cue, the angelic general of Palutena's Centurion Army, Pit, made his presence known as he ran towards the group of swordsmen. His appearance raised concern among the swordsmen, as he seemed panicked and tired.

"What's wrong, Pit," Link asked the exhausted angel.

"Goddess Palutena has requested that I gather several of my comrades to attend a meeting of grave importance to the safety of Overworld," Pit quickly explained.

"Overworld," Roy questioned, cocking an eyebrow, "Is that like angel-speak for 'Heaven'?"

"Actually, Overworld is the realm all mortals, whether from different planets or otherwise, reside in," Pit explained.

"Do you know the details of this meeting, such as what the threat might be," Marth asked.

"Perhaps the meeting may center on Master Hand…" Pit guessed, receiving shocked looks from his peers.

"Are you sure," Marth questioned the young angel.

"No, it's just a guess…But, please, consider coming..."

"Of course we'll come, Pit," Link assured him, placing a hand on the angel's shoulder, "We should go get Zelda and then we'll go round up the others."

"Thank you, Link," Pit nodded, smiling as Link led the group into Hyrule Castle.

Its interior looked like what most castles' would look like, with its fine silk curtains for every window, beautiful furniture for hallways and rooms, paintings hanging from the walls, and well crafted statues.

One statue in particular caught Pit's eye: it consisted of three triangles forming a single one and creating a triangle shaped hole in the middle. Though it was simple in design, the statue represented one of the greatest legends in Hyrule and perhaps even farther.

"Link, is this statue an accurate depiction of what the Tri-Force looks like," Pit asked his blond haired friend, receiving a nod from the Hylian as he opened the door leading into the castle's library.

Link raised his right hand to show Pit a triangle giving off a golden glow on its back, "The Tri-Force, like its name suggests, is made of three parts. I have the Tri-Force of Courage, Zelda has the Tri-Force of Wisdom and _Ganondorf_ has the Tri-Force of Power."

"Which is highly unfortunate," Zelda added as Link's group approached her. She let out a small sigh and placed the book she was reading onto a nearby stand, "Hello, Pit, what brings you here today?"

**-Aboard the Great Fox-**

Fox was silently pacing around the bridge of his grand ship while Slippy and Falco argued over how to fix a stereo. He attempted to ignore their argument but, after dealing with over an hour of complaining and whining and asking him to choose sides, he was finding it hard to remain patient with his twp friends.

"_I'm _the ship's mechanic, Falco," Slippy argued as he twisted a few bolts here and there, causing Falco to scoff loudly at him.

"I can fix this stupid thing myself," Falco replied, attempting to swipe the stereo from the expert mechanic, but to no avail as Slippy was quite strong despite his looks.

"I'm more qualified!"

"As if, Slipper!"

They both continued their tug-of-war, resulting in the stereo being tossed across the room. Fox paused for a moment and glanced over his shoulder before the stereo nailed him in the spine, causing him to topple over.

A long silence ensued as Krystal and Peppy stared at Falco and Slippy, who in turn stared at their fallen commander. Krystal let out a long 'oooohhhh you're gonna get it now' whistle and looked away from the two, as did Peppy.

"Falco…Slippy…" Fox began in a frighteningly calm tone.

"Y-yes, Fox?"

"Why is this stereo on my back?"

"Uhhh, relaxation techniques…You looked a little tense and everyone knows how relaxing being nailed in the back by a stereo is, so we, uh, just thought you might wanna relax or something like that…" Falco nervously laughed, as did Slippy.

"Oh…Why don't I show you guys how much I _appreciate_ your help," Fox growled as he began to get up while the stereo slid off his back and made a soft thud as it hit the bridge's floor. Falco and Slippy backed up as Fox calmly picked up the fallen stereo and smiled menacingly at them.

"Fox, put the stereo down," Falco commanded, but to no avail as Fox slowly progressed towards his two friends, "Hey, Krystal…Do something about Fox…"

The blue vixen merely shook her head as she watched Falco and Slippy cower in the presence of their commander.

"_Beep! Beep! Beep,"_ echoed throughout the room, causing Fox to stop his advancement and glance over at Peppy. His father's long time friend looked down at his computer screen and squinted at the blinking message on it.

"Incoming signal on the Hyrule communication link," Peppy stated, "Should I patch 'em through, Fox?"

Fox nodded, sighing as he dropped the stereo and turned to the bridge's view screen. "Nice to see you again, Link," he grinned as the aforementioned man appeared on the screen.

"Nice to see you too, Fox. I was wondering if you'd attend a meeting Goddess Palutena is holding."

"About?"

"About…well…I'm not really sure, but Pit says it's a matter of grave importance to Overworld," Link replied, receiving a blank stare from the commander, "…As in, _our_ realm of existence…"

"Oh, right…Well, do you have any guesses about what exactly might have sparked this meeting call?"

"Well, we think it may have something to do with Master Hand making a comeback," Roy interrupted, causing Fox to raise an eyebrow. He could have sworn that Master Hand had perished at Taboo's hands.

"Are you sure," he questioned Link, who had regained control of the view screen.

"It's just a guess, Fox," Link answered, "We won't know what's really going on until we speak to Palutena."

Fox paused for a moment, shifting his attention back and forth between Link and the black vacuum that is Space.

"I'll attend this meeting. We'll set a course for Hyrule imme-"

The ship's lights began to flicker as a wave of static interference over swept the ship, causing the comm. link to fail and other electronics to scramble.

"ROB, what's going on," Peppy questioned the robot.

"It seems as though static interference has swept through the ship, causing various malfunctions."

"Oh _really_, _thanks _ROB," Peppy sighed, "But would you mind telling me _what_ is causing the interference?"

ROB paused for the moment as his built in scanners searched for whatever source was to blame, before pointing out the window at a sandy colored planet, "It seems the interference is being caused by a strange, violent surge of energy coming from that nearby planet."

"I have also detected Team Star Wolf in the planet's vicinity," ROB added.

"Ugh…pardon my stereotyping, but whatever Wolf and his cronies are after is now our top priority. Anything able to produce effects like that can't be allowed into Wolf's hands," Fox mumbled as he, Slippy, and Falco headed to their Arwings, "That meeting will have to wait…"

**-Hyrule Castle-**

The group stared at the scrambled view screen. Link frowned and smacked the computer in front of him a few times before turning it off.

"Do you think they're all right, Link," Zelda asked the swordsman.

"Fox can handle himself, so they'll be fi-"

"_Pit…"_ a voice echoed throughout the room, causing the group to set their sights on the brown haired angel. He slowly extended his hand and produced a glowing orb of light.

"Yes, my Goddess? I have been attempting to bring together my comrades for the meeting you have-"

"There is no time for that, child of Icarus," she politely interrupted, "Please bring those with you at the moment to Skyworld."

A beam of light appeared outside the window and into the training grounds, "Please hurry, young one…Their attack has already begun…"

The orb slowly faded away, leaving the group to ponder who 'they' are.

**-Skyworld-**

Beautiful couldn't even begin to describe Skyworld, with its grand architecture resembling those of Greece and Rome and beautiful fountains of clear blue water. Walking Skyworld's beautifully paved streets were angels of various shapes and sizes, clad in various robes.

"Wow…" Zelda mumbled as she began to wander away, stunned by the beauty surrounding her, until Pit gently grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Everyone, I must ask that you stay close to me, so as to not get lo-"

"Hey, where's Link," Roy questioned, interrupting Pit. The angel paused, counted his friends, then recounted them before letting out a small sigh as he scanned the immediate area.

Link was missing.

"How, except by the will of my Goddess, could he have wandered so far away already?"

**-1-**

Link was slowly wandering around Skyworld in an attempt to find his group, receiving glances from many of Skyworld's inhabitants. As he moved further down the street he was on, Link noticed that the buildings surrounding him were different and there were fewer angels.

"Halt," someone commanded Link. The swordsman turned to see another angel, but this one was clad in gray armor and loomed over the swordsman in an authoritative manner. She also didn't seem happy to see Link, judging by the frown on her face and the fact that her hand was on the hilt of her long sword.

"I'm going to have to ask you for your license and registration, sir."

"What seems to be the problem, officer," Link asked, laughing nervously, "I wasn't jaywalking, was I?"

"No, but you are trespassing in a foreign realm," the officer answered, not amused by Link's humor as she slowly unsheathed her sword, "And I am authorized to use lethal force if necessary."

"Okay, okay…" Link said, digging around in his pocket, "Does a fishing license count?"

The woman frowned as Link showed her the license, "Oh, so you're a comedian? Well, I have a joke for you: you're going to come with me, either of your own free will or _not_, and then I'm going to jettison you out of Skyworld should you have no legitimate reason for being here."

"But…" Link stammered, watching as a pair of handcuffs appeared in the woman's hands.

"You may remain silent, if you wish, and anything you _do_ choose to say can be used against you, in a trial or otherwise…Hmm?"

"Link!"

The woman and aforementioned man turned their attention to the blue-haired swordsman running towards them followed by Zelda and Roy. "Where have you been," Zelda panted as she glared at Link, "We and Pit have been looking all over for you."

"P-Pit, as in the General Commander Pit," the woman stammered, looking at Link, "_You_ know the Commander?"

"Yes, he does."

The woman immediately bowed when Pit made his presence known, something that embarrassed the young commander, "Commander Pit, you know this young man?"

"Yes, I brought him here," Pit nodded, laughing in an embarrassed manner as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm sorry if you were inconvenienced by it."

"No, not at all, sir, and I'm sorry to have distracted you, sir," the officer apologized to Link before she left.

"Thanks, Pit," Link said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I kinda got lost looking for wherever the meeting is…Speaking of which, where _is_ the meeting supposed to be?"

"That's the ironic thing…" Pit said as he walked past Link, opening a giant temple door. He led the group into a circular room with a white stone altar in the middle of it. At the end of the room was a large throne, in which sat the Goddess of Light, Palutena.

Pit bowed graciously in her presence, prompting the others to do so as well. "My Goddess, I have brought four of my comrades to the attendance of this meeting," Pit humbly began, "Now, may I ask what matter is so urgent as to make a meeting such as this necessary?"

Palutena smiled at her soldier's curiosity.

"The revival of Master Hand…"

**-A-**

**Notes: "The electrical interference doesn't affect ROB because he's one of the most technologically advanced things on the Great Fox." **


	2. The Beginning of a New Journey

_**Hoshi no Kaabii**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to **_**Super Smash Bros**_**.**

**The rights to anything related to it belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

Chapter 2: The Beginning of a New Journey

"I'm not really surprised, to be honest…" Link sighed, shaking his head, "Then again, Tabuu…what he did to Master Hand was brutal, worse than anything we'd done to him…I half expected Master Hand to…"

Link paused for a moment, crossing his arms as he frowned. Zelda placed her hand on his shoulder, inquiring if he were okay. He shook his head and sighed before turning his attention to Palutena, "Are you sure his minions figured out a way to revive him?"

Palutena shook her head, "Master Hand was never dead, Link. Despite his injuries, Master Hand mustered enough strength to summon his other half, the being you know as 'Crazy Hand', and steal what remained of Tabuu's power."

The Goddess stretched out her hand, a ball of light forming on her palm. It flew to the center of the room, splitting off into several circular monitors that showed the Smashers' battle with Tabuu.

"Why do you creatures resist," Tabuu pondered, barely paying any attention to Marth as he lunged at him, "That hedgehog's little sneak attack was just a minor setback, do you understand?" He grabbed Marth's sword, never once looking at the swordsman, and tossed him in the air. A ball of greenish-blue energy formed at the tip of his index finger and a smile formed on his face as he aimed at the helplessly airborne Marth.

"Heh, not one of my finer moments," Marth laughed as he watched Sheik rescue him, teleporting him out of harm's way, "I don't believe I ever properly thanked you for that, Zelda."

"No problem," the princess laughed.

Meanwhile, Tabuu was on the unfortunate end of Lucario's Aura Storm, which resulted in him being sent him flying across the field. Lucario scanned the dust filled area he had launched Tabuu into; his eyes glowed a light blue as he tried to pick out Tabuu's aura. Suddenly, the dust dispersed as a beam of energy flew through it and Lucario barely managed to avoid being hit (even with his Extreme Speed). The Pokémon let out an irritated growl as he noticed that Tabuu's Dragon Laser singed his fur a little.

"Stay alert," Meta Knight reminded his friend, receiving a smirk from Lucario as they stared Tabuu down, "Shall we?"

"We shall," Lucario laughed, taking an offensive tai-chi stance as his aura grew stronger, before charging Tabuu with Meta Knight.

"You all fought with great courage and strength, even in the face of overwhelming odds," Palutena commented as Meta Knight and Lucario barely managed to stand up to Tabuu's Off Wave attack, leaving them in a severely weakened state. Sonic rushed in with Captain Falcon, interrupting Tabuu as he prepared another Off Wave, while Zelda ran to tend to her teammates' wounds, "And you worked well as a team."

The screens froze, their images skipping to that of a defeated Tabuu clutching his 'heart' as he cursed the Smashers. "How _dare_ you defy me…How _dare_ you trample over _everything_ I have created…You _ants_ are _nothing_ compared to me, not even you _Master_ could defeat me," Tabuu growled, his body trembling as he began to glow brightly, "N-no…I won't die here…not by your hands…I-arrrgghh!"

Tabuu grew brighter; his broken wings closed in on him and then opened suddenly as he screamed in pain. Immediately, Zelda erected a barrier to protect her friends from whatever Tabuu had in store for them, hoping she could at least lessen the blow.

"And that is when Master Hand made his move," Palutena spoke up, pausing the images. She waved her hand a bit, adjusting the 'cameras' so they focused on Tabuu and the two Hands that were about to crush him, "At first I did not notice this, but something that occurred two months or so ago prompted me to reexamine your battle with Tabuu."

She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath as she placed her hand against her forehead. A quiet groan escaped her and she seemed as though she were losing her balance, swaying a little.

"My Goddess, are you well," Pit asked her, rushing to her side.

"I am fine…" Palutena smiled at the young warrior, though he wasn't assured even slightly, "I…I am merely exhausted after what happened when…Oh, I'm sorry, it would be better if I showed all of you, wouldn't it?"

Palutena let out a small laugh as another orb of light flew into the center of the room, splitting off into several monitors like its predecessor. "What I am about to show you comes from the eyes of an Avatar I sent into Subspace, as I myself would have difficulty traversing it," the Goddess explained as images of the ruins of Subspace, its tiniest pieces sparkling the background as if they were stars, appeared on the screen.

"Wow, you know, it's a little sad watching this…"

"How so?"

Zelda paused for a moment, watching the sparkling ruins and 'stars' in the background as she tried to form a suitable answer for Link. "I'm not really sure…" Zelda finally answered, shrugging her shoulders, "It's just that this place looked so lovely when I first saw it and now it's…it's this…"

Link stared at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the screen. He squinted at the images, memories of the ruins before their 'transformation' forming in his mind, before nodding.

"The source's pull grew stronger as my Avatar went deeper and deeper into Subspace, eventually leading my Avatar here…"

On the screens was the image of a reddish-dark purple orb, a bright light burning inside of it. The Avatar edged closer to the light before it was suddenly jerked away and crushed, shattering the screens. Palutena waved her hand slightly, causing the screens to gently disintegrate into particles of light, before letting out a small sigh and giving the Smashers a worried smile.

"I'm sorry I could not tell you earlier about this incident, but the destruction of my Avatar…Somehow, whoever destroyed my Avatar was able to use the link I had with it to incapacitate me for awhile. I revisited your battle with Tabuu when I finally regained enough strength to do so, which led to my discovery of what Master Hand had done."

"You were hurt," Zelda asked the Goddess, shocked as she turned her attention to Pit, "How come you never told us this, Pit?"

"I did tell you…well, I told you what my Goddess to me…" Pit stammered, feeling embarrassed about getting scolded by Zelda in front of Palutena, "She said she was not feeling well and that is what I told you, Ms. Zelda…That is why I came down to pick more fruits than I usually did, remember? I hoped they would help her to recover faster."

"Telling Pit what had happened would not help for there would be nothing he or any of you could do until I recovered. Whatever lies within Subspace cannot be reached at the moment as there is no stable bridge linking to it," Palutena sighed, looking away from the group before her, "I could try to form a bridge, but doing so would be difficult…unless…"

Palutena looked at the group again, frowning slightly, "There are several ways one may enter Subspace. One of the ways is to travel through a portal created by a Subspace Disruption: something that can be brought about by a Subspace Bomb (which is potentially dangerous for those who lack the strength to pass through without the need of a barrier) or Tabuu/Master Hand's power. The other ways require one to breach the barrier put in place to seal Subspace away from the rest of the universe…Master Hand, being trapped in Subspace as a result of being tied to Tabuu's power, has sent those loyal to him on a quest to obtain artifacts that have been left behind by an ancient Council that created Subspace to seal Tabuu away."

"Why'd they do that," Roy asked, "I mean, I'm guessing it has something to do with him being evil…"

"Your guess is as good as mine…" Palutena hesitantly replied, "But know this: You must prevent Master Hand from gaining possession of these artifacts. If he is allowed to unleash the full power of Subspace upon the universe…"

"Do not worry, my Goddess, for me and my comrades shall not allow Master Hand and those who serve him to endanger the universe and all who inhabit it," Pit proclaimed, nodding at his friends who were just as determined as him.

Palutena gave the young warrior a smile, placing her hand on her forehead as she grew a bit dizzy, "Thank you, Pit...But I fear your quest for the artifacts will be a difficult one as they are scattered across the galaxy and I do not know all of their locations…However, I can give you some general information about them…"

-**Dream Land**-

Kirby let out a small groan as he recovered from whatever hit him, groggily rubbing his head. He looked around, though his vision was blurred, and attempted to spot Tiff. "T-Tiff…" he groaned, trying to get to his feet, "Tiff, are you okay…?"

He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to clear his vision, which seemed to work. A sparkle brought his attention to a jewel lying on the ground. It was shifted between purple, light green, blue, and light blue colors depending on how you looked at it, and looked like it had been chipped off of a larger piece crystal. Kirby picked the gem up, feeling a slight attraction to it as a faint yellow glow appeared on his hand.

"Kirby!"

The young warrior's attention snapped away from the gem in his hand and to the young girls running towards him. He recognized the taller of the two, Tiffany, but the girl flying alongside her was another story. She had manila colored skin, dark blue eyes, and rosy cheeks along with light pink, messy shoulder-length hair. Her clothes consisted of a large red ribbon in her hair, a long-sleeve crimson dress with two golden buttons and a frilly white collar, along with a pair of small beige shoes. Kirby, being used to far more bizarre creatures, wasn't surprised by the girl's nearly translucent blue wings. Though the upper part of her body has a humanoid appearance, her legs are short and stubby just like Kirby and Tiff's.

"Ah! A crystal shard," the girl exclaimed, revealing the crystal shard she was holding as she flew to Kirby. He cocked a non-existent eyebrow before looking at the crystal he subconsciously held tightly in his hand, "P-please, may I have that, please?"

"Yeah, it belongs to you, right?"

Kirby raised his shard to the girl's, a bright light manifesting as the crystals absorbed each other. When the light cleared there was only one crystal, sparkling brightly in the moonlight.

-**King DDD's Castle**-

The young girl, Ribbon, felt a bit nervous as she sat in the living room of Tiff's home. She didn't even know the young girl and her pink friend yet they were inviting a complete stranger to their home. A thought crossed her mind: what if this was some sort of trap or an elaborate dream she'd created?

She shook her head, remembering the warm feel of her mother hugging her tightly before sending her away from their doomed home and the stinging pain she felt when she crashed landed on Pop Star after being attacked. The latter theory was dismissed, but she still felt suspicious of Tiff and Kirby.

But she was desperate for help and needed any she could get, so telling them everything that happened was something she had to do (even if recalling such an event pained her to no limits). With a deep breath and heavy sigh Ribbon began her story; Tiff and Kirby listened intently.

She told them of the shifting darkness that flew towards her home world, Ripple Star, and covered everything in its path.

"It was so sudden…One moment I'm playing with my friends and then that…that _thing_ appears and…" Ribbon's voice started to break and her eyes began to water, "I had to make sure my-my mom was okay, b-but she sent me away with the Power Crystal to go and get the help of-of anyone who could…Then _this_ happened…"

She raised the crystal in her hand, "_This_ is hardly even 2% of what I lost when that _thing_ sent three of its smaller selves to chase after me…They tried to attack me, but they ended up destroying the crystal instead…"

Ribbon sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she wondered whether or not anyone was even alive on Ripple Star. A hand gently placed on her shoulder brought Ribbon's attention to Tiffany, who was holding a handkerchief in her other hand. That comforting look in Tiff's eyes, like a caring big sister, made Ribbon feel ashamed for believing she'd try to trick her.

"Here, take this and don't worry," Tiff smiled as she handed the item she held to Ribbon, pointing to Kirby behind her, "If you're looking for a warrior, Kirby's your best bet!"

"Yeah, I'll help you look for the crystal shards _and_ take back your home," Kirby exclaimed, growing determined. Tiff quickly covered his mouth, shushing him as she carefully looked around the dimly lit room.

"Don't be so loud, Kirby," she quietly laughed, "I don't want to wake up Tuff and my parents."

"You'll both help me," Ribbon asked, wiping whatever remained of her tears away, "B-but I don't even know you…"

"You need our help, so we're giving it to you," Kirby grinned, "And a Star warrior like me never turns away those in need…except if they're evil or want me to do something evil, but I think that's a given…"

"Star Warrior?"

-**Gerudo Sanctum, Ganondorf's Throne Room**-

Ganondorf felt it irritated today as he sat on his throne and stared at the triangle on his right hand. "Power," he grumbled, balling up his fist as the triangle glowed a bright yellow, "Courage and Wisdom…_Tri_-Force…"

He sat up straight, bringing his booted foot down with a powerful 'thud' as he uncrossed his legs. The guards patrolling the Throne Room looked at him in surprise, as if he were angry at one of them for something and his punishment for that something would be fierce and slow. That suited him just fine, people fearing his power, but people fearing him _all_ the time did bother him.

Despite it being safer to be feared, Ganondorf wanted to be loved as well. He didn't like to admit it, but he wanted that special someone who could bring peace to his soul, bring light into the darkness within him, to melt his cold heart.

Ganondorf let out a deep laugh as he read the last paragraph over again, clutching his stomach as if he were about to die from laughter. The guards looked at each other, none of them having the courage to ask their King if there was something wrong.

"I needed that," Ganondorf chuckled, taking a thoughtful posture as he placed his hand on his chin, "But what are those old birds thinking…It's called the _Tri_-Force, not the _Quad_-Force…"

He frowned as the memory of what his surrogate mothers, Koume and Kotake, had told him the previous night flooded his mind.

"_What once was three now is four, within a child forevermore. A heart of fire with skin so pink, against him a strategy's what you'll need to think_," Koume cackled as she brushed her light blue hair out of her eyes, turning the spotlight over to her fiery red-haired sister, Kotake.

"_But this fourth is false as well as his three, but it can grow stronger than truth, can you see? His Tri-Force are copied from those like you, like Zelda, the princess, and handsome Link too!_"

Ganondorf rolled his eyes when the sisters made a pose together, pointing at Ganondorf as they said in unison: "_Cut him in half with our magic blade, striking true, and the power he holds may be increased by you! Separating the good and the bad, the new from the old, raise the girl, what will the future hold?_"

He _hated_ the little 'rhymes on a dime' routine the Gerudo's most respected elders put on every time they had some sort of premonition, especially since those were the _only_ times they did it. He mostly hated it because they used to waste his time by trying to come up with rhymes on the spot; luckily this has become rare as they seem to practice before presenting their finds to the king.

"_What once was three now is four…"_

**Translation:** "Tri-Force is now Quad-Force…"

"…_within a child forevermore..."_

**Translation: **"Stuck in some kid…"

" _A heart of fire with skin so pink, against him a strategy's what you'll need to think_…"

**Translation: **"…Kirby?"

Ganondorf sat up and slammed his fists on his throne, though the blow was cushioned by the softness of the throne's arms. It had to be Kirby they were talking about, since Jigglypuff sounds even _more_ ridiculous and he's the only one of the two blobs of pink that has the ability to copy others.

He's also the only "_him_" of the two.

"_But this fourth is false as well as his three, but it can grow stronger than truth, can you see? His Tri-Force is copied from those like you, like Zelda, the princess, and handsome Link too!_"

**Translation: **"His Quad-Force is made up of Tri-Force pieces that are not as powerful as the originals, like mine or Zelda's or Link's, but his Quad-Force can grow stronger than the originals?"

Ganondorf leaned back in his throne, interlocking his fingers as he considered the possibilities. He had to admit it; Kirby was powerful, at least powerful enough to inconvenience Ganondorf on several occasions. With the Tri/Quad-Force in his stubby little hands the puffball could actually be formidable, even more so if Ganondorf controlled him.

"Hmmm…the power of darkness corrupting a being that calls himself a Star Warrior," Ganondorf mused, smiling slightly, "I think there's some irony in that…"

"_Cut him in half with our magic blade, striking true, and the power he holds may be increased by you! Separating the good and the bad, the new from the old, raise the girl, what will the future hold?_"

Ganondorf frowned, "The good is the new, which I'll separate by striking true, and that will produce a girl Kirby…Then I take _that_ Kirby under my wing in order to make her stronger…"

Ganondorf smiled at the thought of having a minion whose power he could mold into that of an unstoppable killing machine. Since Kirby can copy the power of anything he can swallow, Ganondorf thought of a list of small monsters he would have his surrogate mothers create, though he'd have to find something that would allow the puffball to work around his 'one power at a time' limit.

"Are you enjoying yourself, my Lord?"

Ganondorf halted his thoughts about monsters and Kirby, frowning as he looked up at the woman before him. Like most Gerudo women she had dark, tanned skin, golden eyes and red hair, though unlike most women she did not tie her hair in a ponytail, choosing to let it reach the small of her back with no restraint. She wore a lovely blue vest that had golden embroideries along its edges with the 'Symbol of the Gerudo' on its back, over her white midriff shirt. Her pants were wide and black, held up by a leather belt that had a golden 'Symbol of the Gerudo' as its buckle. She wore black flats and a golden medallion that had the outline of a silver crescent moon and star on it.

"Hello…mother…" Ganondorf grudgingly smiled at the woman, prompting her to smirk at her son's loving attitude towards her, "Is there something you need? If not…_leave_…"

"Ah, straight to business," the woman smirked, obviously not intimidated by the 'Lord of Evil', "Well, six ships have been detected entering the atmosphere within the last 20 minutes, though half of them entered at least 10 minutes after the other half did. I'm assuming the first three are trying to escape the second three ships, or they called in reinforcements."

"…And?"

"And that's it…I just thought you'd like to know."

"Hmm, make sure the interlopers leave either in one piece or a body bag depending on whether or not they resist the request…" Ganondorf sighed, waving the woman away, "If that's all…"

"Good bye, my Lord," his mother smiled, bowing slightly before turning to leave. She paused, glancing back at Ganondorf whose eyes were closed as he (apparently) contemplated something. His eyes snapped open when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him before pulling him into a hug that shocked him so much that he could not find the strength to push his mother away.

"I see you're not as strong as you act…" she whispered in his ear before letting go and taking her leave as Ganondorf sat motionless and dumbfounded on his throne.

**-1-**

"So, you brought us here to search for treasure…No, no, no, _no_…let me rephrase that," Wolf laughed, his voice laced with irritation as he paced back and forth on the desert sand, "You brought us here to _search_ for treasure based on a rumor that said some would be here, then it turns out that there's _none_ here?"

He was talking to a stammering chameleon, his long time teammate, Leon Powalski. After searching endlessly through various rumor sites to satiate his boredom, Leon apparently found a rumor that seemed legitimate enough to check out. Of course, he left out the tiny little detail that it was a rumor that led him to convince the group to travel outside the Lylat System and into what was known as Tri-Space, for the odd shape the system seemed to form.

"We almost ran out of fuel for some stupid rumor," Wolf growled, cracking his knuckles as he narrowed his eyes on Leon.

"N-now, Wolf, I knew you'd get mad, but I've got this," Leon, stammered pulling out a circular device that had a small white blip on its green grid.

"…Where'd you get that, a Dragon Ball Z auction," Wolf asked, not impressed by the device.

"Yes, but it actually works!"

"So we're looking for Dragon Balls," Wolf asked, somewhat excited, "Sweet, cause I've got a few-"

"Wha…no! Let me finish," Leon sighed, pulling the device close to him, "You know that weird electrical interference we've been getting? Well, this thing can help us find it!"

"How does that make things better?"

"Think about it, Wolf, stuff like whatever's been able to jam our tech must be worth something hefty, right? I mean, we're working with top of the line crap and, even if we're not going to sell what we find, in fact even before we decide on whether or not to do so, we can have Joan upgrade our tech to nullify the electrical interference! Then we'll have her install the object so we can use its electrical field to mess with that damned Falco!"

"Well…that certainly was an interesting series of words that tumbled past your teeth and lips, Leon," Wolf grunted, walking past his chameleon comrade, "Fine, we'll get whatever the hell's here and then bolt while I'm in a good mood…How far are we from where the object's at?"

"Uhhh…about ten miles…"

"Ugh, back in the Wolfens then…"

-**2**-

"Let's just tail them for now," Fox instructed Falco and Slippy, receiving nods, "Star Fox, move out…"

**-3-**

It didn't take long for Star Wolf to reach their destination, a large temple-like structure that seemed to glisten in the desert sun's light. Off in the distance, if one looked closely, a town was nearby, though the desert's heat caused it to appear blurry and mirage-like.

"Huh, I don't think this is an abandoned temple," Wolf mused, thankful that the temple's temperature was cooler than outside, "It looks too well maintained…"

The only lights within the temple were the sun's rays, giving the temple a dim (kind of creepy) look. There were two, polished to a mirror like shine, wooden benches facing a large circle in the middle of the room with a large podium/altar looking thing standing behind it.

"Huh, I wonder how much we'll get if we fence that painting," Wolf asked no one in particular, pointing to the large painting hanging on the wall behind the altar. The background was a sandy color with a well-built, female shaped, being of pure red energy that had 'hair' which was tied in a ponytail and a relatively big nose that was a little pointy. In her hands was a golden triangle engulfed by crimson fire.

"Hmmm, it certainly is lovely…" Panther, Wolf's somewhat narcissistic teammate stated, gently holding a rose in his hand, "But I don't think it'd fetch a great price back in the Lylat System…"

"Right," Wolf frowned, wondering how the painting would look as part of his personal collection, "…Nah…Leon! Where's that thing you dragged us all the way out here for?"

"Uh, w-well, it _should_ be right here," Leon stammered, approaching the painting with his tracker, "I think it's, um, below us…somewhere…"

"Then start digging," Wolf smirked, patting Leon on the back as he turned to leave, "Panther, help Leon search for some sort of secret passage or something…If you can't find one in an hour I'm going to blast…"

Wolf paused, his mood lightening a bit as he saw Fox standing before the temple's entrance with Slippy and Falco by his side. At least he'd probably be able to initiate some sort of fight with the group, adding a little excitement to the day.

"I never took you for a Tomb Raider, Wolf," Fox smirked as he crossed his arms, moving farther into the temple until he was a comfortable distance away from Wolf, "In fact, what brings you out of the Lylat System? I would assume that it'd be more profitable for you to keep your business dealings close to home."

"Ha, blame him," Wolf laughed as he pointed at Leon, still searching for a way to get the rumored treasure, "He said there was a supposed stash of treasure on this planet, but all we've found so far is sand and _more_ sand!"

"Well, that's too bad, Wolf," Fox smirked, glad to see one of Wolf's endeavors blow up in his face. He paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the temple's interior. He felt a slight chill run up his spine as he spotted a strangely familiar symbol that reminded him of one he'd seen on Ganondorf's cape.

"I think we should leave, Wolf…" Fox said, sounding a bit nervous.

"Hmm, how arrogant of you to tell us what we should do," Panther laughed, though neither of his teammates shared his feelings since Leon was too busy looking for that secret entrance and Wolf was too busy wondering what Fox was feeling, "But, that lovely vixen of yours…I'd do anything she'd want me to, Fox…Where is she?"

Fox and Wolf glared at Panther, the former because Krystal was his girlfriend and the latter because Panther was starting to annoy him. "She's safe and far away from _you_," Fox growled, calming down when Slippy tapped him on his shoulder, "What is…it?"

To say that Fox was surprised when he turned around would be an understatement.

There were several women in front of him, all of them Gerudo and all of them ready for a fight should the two teams give them one. He didn't have to glance at the windows to tell that there were even _more_ women surrounding the outside perimeter.

"It seems as though we've got a few mice scurrying about our most sacred temple…" a woman laughed, causing the six men to tense up. The Gerudo before them moved to the side and made a pathway for Ganondorf's mother, now wearing a cloak similar in design to Ganondorf's cape.

The similarity in looks she shared with Ganondorf was not lost on Fox, though he could hardly believe it. "You seem surprised about something, cub," the woman mused, brushing back her gorgeous red hair, "A rupee for your thoughts?"

Fox remained silent and attempted to appear less tense by replacing his fighting stance with a casual upright stance, folding his arms as he eyed the woman.

"What a curious creature you are," the woman laughed, though the women around her did not share in her amusement, "What are you doing here?"

"We were looking for someone, but they're obviously not here so we'll just be leaving now…" Fox replied, glancing over his shoulder at Team Star Wolf, "Right, O'Donnell?"

Wolf let out a grunt of compliance before he called Leon (who had by then ceased looking for an entrance and was staring nervously at the armed women before him) to his side, "Whatever, Fox…we'll just get out of your hair, Miss…"

"Oh, my name's not important," the woman smiled, a strange glint in her eyes as she looked the men over. She remembered what Ganondorf had told her, but considered killing the men anyways since they were trespassing on sacred Gerudo grounds, as well as trying to loot said sacred grounds. Even better, she could just capture them and keep them around for 'exotic entertainment'.

"Using Hylian men as toys _has_ lost its spark over the years and these boys could provide some fresh entertainment," she mumbled, weighing her options. Ganondorf hardly cared about what she or any Gerudo did when they went 'hunting', so she didn't need to worry about receiving any sort of punishment should she capture or kill Teams Star Fox and Wolf, _despite _them offering to leave without incident.

Besides, since when did she care about such things: surrendering and what not? As far as she was concerned these men are trespassers whose lives _she_ holds in _her_ hands, so they were in no real position to bargain with her and her personal squad of elite Gerudos.

A series of beeps brought her attention to a black and gold walkie-talkie clipped to her belt, a little something Ganondorf had given her should he need to speak with her over a secure line. The woman smiled as she brought the object to her ear, answering it with a sugar laced, "Helloooo?"

"Master Hand has summoned me, I am departing now. I expect the kingdom to be exactly how I left it when I return, is that understood?"

"Of course, Ganondorf," his mother replied, smiling as she saw Fox and Falco's faces pale slightly.

"One more thing…Are Fox and his little friends gone yet?"

"…Not yet," his mother sighed, figuring he probably reviewed the RITO satellite footage sometime after she had left and indentified at least one of the ships as belonging to an enemy of his.

"Let them go, I don't want you capturing him while his friends know he's here…"

"…Yes, my Lord…" the woman grudgingly replied, an image of Ganondorf smirking forming in her mind. She clipped the walkie-talkie back onto her belt, sighing as she returned her attention to Fox and the others, "I'll let you go now, but _never_ return to this temple again."

"O-okay, we'll _never_ come back here again, r-right, Fox," Slippy asked his commander, trembling as he imagined how easily those women would be able to slice him into tiny cubes of toad, "Let's do what she says!"

"We'll never come back here, ma'am, but that guy," Fox casually said as he pointed at Panther, who gave him a shocked look, "I would toss him in jail, just to be safe."

"U-uh, I-I'll leave, I swear!"

Ganondorf's mother found the offer tempting, but decided Ganondorf wouldn't like it if she kept Panther despite his orders to let 'Fox _and_ his little friends' go. She raised her hand, motioning for the Gerudos to leave the temple after letting her out first. Teams Star Fox and Wolf left the temple soon after, with Leon, Slippy, and (arguably) Panther eyeing the Gerudo women nervously as they cautiously made their ways back to their respective ships.

"That was close," Leon exclaimed, hopping into Rainbow Delta (his custom Wolfen) as soon as he could. Panther and Slippy nodded in agreement, with the former silently cursing Fox for the stunt he tried to pull.

"Hey, Fox," Wolf began, his static plagued image appearing on Fox's comm-link as he initiated his Arwing's startup sequence, "That Ganondorf guy that woman mentioned…do you know him or something? I ask this because you and bird boy looked like you were about to tip over when you heard the guy's name…"

"Yeah, he's an 'acquaintance' of a few friends of mine…huh…?"

As the Arwings and Wolfens rose from the ground, a giant ship of gold and black design appeared in the sky. It was smaller than the Great Fox, but its large cannon, along with several smaller turrets mounted on its sides, would make its size inconsequential in a fight. The front of the ship was shaped into the face of a boar with a red jewel implanted in its forehead, which is what the cannon would fire through.

"These desert crawlers, wielding spears and swords and bows and junk, managed to build something like _that_," Wolf asked, obviously impressed, "Who the hell's setting them up with this stuff?"

"Master Hand, that's who…" Fox mumbled to himself, frowning as he watched the giant ship disappear into a dark purple warp gate. He looked out of his window, down at the desert sand and Gerudo women gathered to watch him leave. Ganondorf's mother smiled and waved at him before he flew off into the sky.

"Link and Zelda should know about this…"

-**Entering Pop Star Space**-

Samus smiled slightly as she read those words over again. She was taking a small break from bounty hunting and decided to, since she was already going to be passing by Pop Star, drop by and see how Kirby was doing since the whole incident with Tabuu.

"Samus, are we almost there?"

The bounty hunter looked up from her computer's screen before spinning her chair so she could face the young girl questioning her. She was short enough that she would reach to about Samus's waist were the woman standing; her skin and body length hair were snow white with a green bandana tying the latter back into a ponytail; her cheeks were a rosy pink, reminding Samus of Kirby, and her eyes were light blue with bluish-purple pupils. She was dressed for bed, as could be assumed by her military green pajamas.

"Seven hours, eight tops," Samus replied as she gave the girl a slight smile, returning her attention back to the computer screen, "Go ahead and catch some Zs; I'll stay up a bit longer."

"Are you sure, don't you think it'd be better for autopilot to take over," the girl asked, frowning slightly when Samus shook her head, "_You_ should get some rest too! What good would it do for you to travel _all_ the way to Dream Land to visit Kirby if all you were going to do was be out cold sleeping for the next few days because you spent nearly twelve hours straight awake?"

Samus bit her lip, tensing up a bit. "I see your point, Silica…" Samus sighed, reluctantly pulling herself away from the computer screen before her. She paused for a moment, catching some strange blob moving through space out of the corner of her eye. Silica watched with curiosity as Samus ordered her Hunter-class gunship's AI to scan for any biological life forms within its limits.

"…Unknown life-form detected…Error, multiple life-forms detected, reaching scanning perimeters. Life-forms lost, calculated path of travel: northwest."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just had a bad feeling," Samus replied, brushing back her hair before she turned and smiled at Silica, "Ha, maybe I do need some rest!"

Silica nodded and smiled at this, taking her leave with a hint of triumph in her steps. Samus sighed, running her hand through her hair as she felt a slight chill run up her spine.

"Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight…" she mumbled, leaving the ship's cockpit to follow after Silica.

**-A-**

**Notes: "The battle with Tabuu occurred five months ago, which means it happened three months before Palutena's Avatar explored Subspace. Leon's Dragon Radar actually detects electrical interference's source's electromagnetic pulse and actually was won in an online auction, but his sister (Joan) made a few modifications to improve its capabilities." **


End file.
